Product Description
8 Cassette tapes in a Blue folder with Gold leaf scroll and printing. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is on 2 tapes, one is titled Silver Blaze and is read by Basil Rathbone. The second story is A Scandal in Bohemia which is also read by Basil Rathbone. Moby Dick is 4 sides. Read by Charlton Heston as Ahab, Keir Dullea as Ishmal & George Rose as Father Mapple. Poe's Tales of Mystery has 2 tapes read by Vincent Price, Ligeia and The Gold Bug. The Adventures of Don Quixote is read by Michael York. All tapes are Audiophile Quality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Adventures of the Kentucky Pioneer "D. Boon"
This book is a nice sketch of the life of Daniel Boone, first published by the University Press of Kentucky in 1978.While it does not compare with the larger and more valuable biographies of Draper, and Bakeless, and lacks the primary value of Boone's own account of himself in Filson's "Kentucke" (1784), it is a nice survey, and may be more appreciated by younger readers, or by those new to the subject, than the larger volumes. ... Read more

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Leather bound limited edition of 5000 illustrated by Mort Kunstler. ... Read more

Product Description
SIGNED EDITION, Leather Bound. Book accented in 22kt gold. Printed on archival paper with gilded edges. The endsheets are of moire fabric with a silk ribbon page marker. Smyth sewing and concealed muslin joints to ensure the highest quality binding. This book is in full leather with hubbed spines. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (388)

"There isn't anything in the world . . . "
THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN was written while Michael Crichton was in medical school. Arguably, this is his best book, written at the height of the U.S. Space Program, and guaranteed to terrify the reader with its tale of an unmanageable pathogen from beyond the Earth.

Written as a real documentary report, Crichton manages to impart significant information about Chemical-Bacteriological Warfare, epidemiology, hot zone protocols, computerized patient diagnosis, hemotology, and much else to his readers while still entertaining us.

It may be that his supersecret pathogen laboratory, "Wildfire" isn't real, but it could be, and so could virtually anything else between these covers, which is why THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN still inspires chills forty years after its publication. The 1971 movie The Andromeda Strain is a worthy effort, but read the book first.

A decent techno-thriller, though it does have some issues
The Andromeda Strain was my second venture into Crichton's work, the first being Sphere. Though I did like it a bit more than Sphere, it still didn't really pull me in as much as I thought it might.

Andromeda Strain is about an extraterrestrial microorganism that comes to Earth via 'Scoop' satellite that is placed just in orbit, right around the highest levels of Earth's atmosphere. The satellite prematurely crashes right near Piedmont, a small town in Arizona. This unknown microorganism causes all but two people in Piedmont to meet their maker. It is the job of a small team of scientists to unravel the mysteries of this microorganism. Isolated, in an underground facility the scientists go to work.

I found most of this book to be at least mildly interesting. The plot seems somewhat plausible on the surface (even if it really isn't). The ending is a bit of a deus ex machina and some of the plot devices are entirely too clichéd (the clock ticking down to ultimate destruction for instance). There are also elements that are way too contrived though I won't discuss them here because it would spoil an important aspect of the plot.

In the end, it was entertaining enough to keep my bookmark moving.

The book that started it all for Crichton
"The Andromeda Strain" was Michael Crichton's first novel, and it basically served as the foundation for his illustrious career. He could develop a serious crisis unlike any other, but it wasn't just the suspense and action that made his novels so great; it was also the unique characters he created and the way they evolved throughout his stories. Also, Crichton's narrative was at times very informative and free-flowing in ways that could almost be read like a work of non-fiction within the fictional story he was telling, and it helped bring the characters and events in his books to life. "The Andromeda Strain" is a great example of this.

Bacteriologist Jeremy Stone, along with a group of other scientists, are working in, what was then, a technologically advanced, state-of-the-art facility as they try diligently to unravel the mystery behind this extraterrestrial bacteria that came to earth via a satellite that had been launched by the army a couple years earlier. The satellite crash-landed near a small town in Arizona called Piedmont, and the bacteria quickly spread like a virus, killing all but two people in the town: a crying baby and a strange old man. The scientists find themselves encountering many problems in their facility as they try figuring out how these two people survived and how this deadly virus can be stopped before it kills them and spreads throughout the country.


The ending is somewhat anticlimactic, and there are parts of the story that read at a slow pace as Crichton describes things like scientific theories regarding bacteria from outer space and the now outdated technology being used in the facility. As a result, the book didn't seem quite as suspenseful as it could've been. Overall though, Crichton did a great job handling the mystery elements in this intriguing and unpredictable story, and he did a pretty good job with the character development as well. "The Andromeda Strain" is very well written, especially for an author's first novel. I guess that's not surprising though. Crichton always wrote like a veteran, and it seemed like he always knew exactly what he was doing. This book is no exception.

Sci Fi Classic & Cautionary Tale
I have read and re-read this book many times, I've seen the movie and TV series. This is absolutely one of the best tales of science getting out of control. A space probe is sent to seek organisms that can be used for germ or biological warfare. The quest is far more successful than the government wants and things go down hill from there.

Crichton graduate from Harvard Med school, so he has the educational and technological background to make this entirely plausible and absoultely frightening. He has excellent writing skills, making what could have been a dull accounting of science and medicine into an emotional thriller that keeps you interested, building tension until the very end.

You may have heard of some of his other works: Congo, Sphere, Jurrassic Park, Rising Sun to name a few. A brilliant mind - his fiction often has footnotes and factual sources the reader can pursue to follow up on the facts.

An Odyssey of Timeless Possibilities
Michael Crichton's first novel, "The Andromeda Strain", is an odyssey of timeless possibilities. The classic 1971 film vision, The Andromeda Strain (directed by Robert Wise), unfortunately could not include all of Crichton's little gems buried within the narrative of the text. The first time I tried reading the novel I couldn't get into the story, but recently I started over and actually forced myself to read the whole book. But this time it wasn't difficult once I got past the first parts and found myself compulsively reading it. I don't know what I was thinking the first time, but this book is exciting for the mind and still has much to offer even today.

The plot begins a little too slowly perhaps, but once the wave of ideas start coming it is a thoughtful and intelligent read. If you like his Jurassic Park, then this is an excellent novel to read for similar arguments about our human flaws. Like in "Jurassic Park", he questions the evolutionary and survival value of human intelligence. Are we too smart and powerful for our own good? Are we self-destructive like a ticking time bomb? All of these questions made famous by "Jurassic Park" get their start in this novel (Crichton's first). Besides his usual warnings against us humans trying to act as if we can control and manipulate nature without producing unknown, unpredictable, and potentially disastrous side effects, there are many other little gems for the imagination that I found even more interesting (and no I didn't find the Odd Man Hypothesis the most interesting idea).

Here are a few highlights to try to capture my meaning and point out all the excellent questions and SF possibilities mentioned in the text (most of which were not in the movie):

1. What sort of alien life are we likely to meet? It includes a table summarizing the odds of encountering certain types of alien life. The numbers indicate that we are most likely to discover non-complex and non-intelligent life. I found this interesting because Stephen Hawking notes a similar idea in his popular science book, The Universe in a Nutshell; he suggests that we are most likely to encounter lifeforms that are either less intelligent or much more intelligent than us.

2. What is life? He expresses skepticism over defining life in perfectly clear terms. Yes, most (if not all) definitions of life have counterexamples (just like almost all non-mathematical definitions)!

3. Could our first encounter come from below? He suggests a fascinating possibility that intelligent life might exist at tiny scales. Could we examine a piece of space debris under a microscope and see a message of greetings and peace from little aliens? Perhaps continuing trends of the miniaturization of technology would allow these little aliens to harness extreme types of power, at least for their size.

4. Would microorganisms from outer space be likely to harm us, or is it more likely that our environment will harm them? Bacteria on earth rarely exists in forms that are dangerous to humans, for over time microorganisms and humans co-evolved with each other and built immunities to each other. If a bacteria was too harmful and killed its host, then it is unlikely to survive in abundance.

4a. Though this means we are dependent on our 'good bugs' (our good bacteria) and we could be in danger if left 'naked' to our environment (the way an advanced alien life form would be, as H. G. Wells nicely used in The War of the Worlds (Modern Library Classics)). For example, Crichton discusses a kind of super-curing drug that could cure cancer completely by destroying all of one's microorganisms - including important ones in the stomach. Sounds great, but it would create the nasty side effect of undoing years of evolution and producing a quick death by some odd infection (that evolution regularly defends us against). So perhaps the odds are higher that bacteria will harm humans (or any life form) when man (or the life form) is stripped of centuries of co-evolution and left bare to the elements.

5. Is life as we know it 'normal' or could there be lifeforms very different? It speculates that an alien life form might use very different life-processes, such as not using amino acids (which we find in just about all life forms). Perhaps some sort of crystal life-processes could replace the 'normal' biological functions we observe on earth, and perhaps these processes would help equip such an alien life form to survive in space, travel the stars, meet new lifeforms, and seed new civilizations. Carl Sagan has an interesting discussion of life in his Cosmos: Carl Sagan (7 DVD Set) series and he suggests that carbon is essential for his classification of life, but Crichton is much more liberal about new life (in the tradition of Star Trek).

6. Would an atypical life form find other 'atypical' environments better for healthy life-functioning? Crichton points out that some forms of life survive best in very different environments than humans. Some live in the deep ocean in high pressure. So it may be possible that some lifeforms would survive best above the oxygen atmosphere of Earth. In the story, several scoops orbit the earth in search of microorganisms for the development of biological weapons.

7. Last on my list but not least -- How could an advanced civilization explore the universe within the constraints of vast distances, immense time intervals, and the rigors of space travel? One exciting option is that an advanced civilization might choose to send out microbiological organisms that adapt well to deep space. These microorganisms could announce the existence of their civilization and contact other life around the universe. And perhaps, just maybe, these organisms would have the ability to replicate and reproduce once they land in the right environment. They might even grow into a full life form, examine any life forms found in its area, and greet new life and new civilizations! How could they not put that into the movie!

The plot nicely weaves these seven questions into the story. The story is similar to the one in the movie. A group of scientists get a call to action to study a new microorganism scooped from an orbit around the earth. The scientists must find a way to defeat the deadly microorganism before it spreads, but many of their safety precautions produce unpredicted side effects. So they also have to battle against the limits of their humanity as well. They spend an immense amount of time decontaminating, and they go over the Odd Man Hypothesis in which studies show that a single person makes the right decisions more often than a married person. The Odd Man would have to decide whether to explode the entire facility if the microorganism gets out of control; and, by the way, only the Odd Man can turn off the count down to detonation.

I found the story surprisingly full of ideas, as if the author took his time and took great care to produce a near masterpiece. Some of his other stories seem too stock. Some of his stories carry along one or two interesting ideas near the end. But then he has "Jurassic Park" and "The Andromeda Strain" -- my two favorites by far. I also love Prey for a couple ideas but I didn't find it nearly as filled with gems as "The Andromeda Strain". I highly suggest this novel even though it was a little difficult for me to get into initially and science has probably advanced quite a bit since it was written. But the vision of the text and many imaginative possibilities seem very well intact (if not timeless). ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1961 and now with a new introduction, The Franco-Prussian War is acknowledged as the definitive history of one of the most dramatic and decisive conflicts in the history of Europe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Not a good choice for the average history "enthusiast"
This is a good book written by an exceptional soldier and historian, however, it's not for everybody. I'll try to quickly summarize the primary obstacles for the average American reader.

First, this is an operational history and operational histories are, by their very nature, boring reads. It is particularly difficult to get excited about the movements of various armies, corps, and divisions when American readers are generally unfamiliar with the geography of Alsace-Lorraine and the faceless commanders of either side.

Next, Sir Michael elected not to translate the oblique French and German quotes of the participants provided to illuminate critical decisions and/or decisive actions. One must assume the British audience of 1961 were well up on their French and German. Most American readers will quickly tire of thumbing through their phrase books trying to figure out what was said.

Finally, Sir Michael must have assumed his audience had a certain working knowledge of the primary cast of characters, places, and events of the 1870 War. For example, few American readers will likely be familiar with the Empress Eugenie or influence she had on her Emporer husband and the French decision making process as a whole. Nor will the average American reader understand such archaic references as "the stone", a malady suffered by Napoleon III, though they will no doubt figure it out in time.

While reading this book, I spent a considerable amount of time online trying to understand the background information surrounding the conflict. Though several maps are included, they are not very useful owing to their inappropriate scale. At $30 per copy, this is a book best left in the public library and consulted when and if needed. If you're a die-hard military historian, then by all means, CHARLIE MIKE. If not, skip it.

Exquisite Narrative
Sir Michael Howard was a gifted writer, but an even better researcher and historian. The comprehensive picture of a very complex interaction between France and Germany is transformed by Sir Michael into flowing, lucid prose. Unbiased and very insightful into the salient contributions towards failure and success that would go unnoticed in a work focused solely on the big events. This is a fabulous story!

Moltke makes it look easy
Howard's The Franco-Prussian War details the conflict of 1870-71 wherein Prussia defeated France in the last of the three wars of German unification spanning the time from 1864-1871.The development of the modernPrussian general staff, started in the wake of Napoleon's crushing victory at Jena, here reaches its culmination both in the person of Moltke and the crowning victory over the Second French Empire.What few mistakes were made against Austria in 1866 had been corrected, and as Howard writes, "By 1870, the machine was perfected."

The swift and decisive Prussian victory, Howard concludes, actually portended disaster for the unified Germany.It brought the Germans of that era to believe that since their nation had been unified as a result of military action, that it would be through military action that the nation would be preserved.This was to bear significant consequences over the next seventy-five years.

Dry as Dust
I don't know enough about the Franco-Prussian War to criticize the research and the facts presented.But this is certainly not an enjoyable book to read.If that is a factor for you, be warned.

Boring but informative
I actually have not finished the book yet, so forgive my hypocrisy.From an information and accuracy perspective it is probably the best book on the war.However it is a bit of a tough read, so be prepared.Howard details technology and warfare of the time, along with politics and the like and the book doesn't miss much.However, perhaps that is the reason it seems so long.overall I would say a good book. ... Read more

Product Description
Leather bound edition accented in 22kt gold. Signed by author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (698)

Way better than the movie
Reading this book has made me realize just how much of a bastardization the movie really was.

Jurassic Park Changed my Life
This film changed my life and my entire mentality. I was never a fond reader of books and one day my father arrived at my grandparents summer trailer in upstate Poconos and at the age of 10 I sat throguh what was a torrential rainstorm and he presented me with Jurassic Park the paperback in a brown paperbag.
I read the book in 3 days and this was the first book I never wanted to end. Michael Crichton was such a beautiful configuration of Science, history, fact, fiction and creativity combined with his own life experiences that everyone of his books made me incredibly smarter. Jurassic Park perfectly creates a vision that is conveyed so flawlessly that you cannot resist but immerse yourself in this fictional time and place. I was able to perfectly construct in my mind this park these dinosaurs and these characters and it made me want to absorb information and become an intellectual.
To this day I love the rain and storms because it reminds me of Jurassic Park and the many books such as Congo, Sphere and Travels (MC's BIO) and I felt whole.
Micheal Crichton you have and always will be the only hero I have ever had.

Very Good Book...
I read this book some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I saw the movie first and then read the book. The Book was better in my opinion; although, I did enjoy the movie. As books should, it provoked me to ponder if such cloning experiments are happening on some remote island in some remote part of the world. Who knows but it is interesting and scary to think that it could be happening.

The best book I have ever read
This book is honestley my favorite book of them all. I have always loved it and I read it over and over again. It has everything you need in a good book. I think the movie is even better. After you read this book, you will be so in to dinosaurs and Jurassic Park that you can't even believe it. I have always loved this book and the movie. After reading the book I now have the dream of becoming a Paleontologist.

RIVETING...

This is definitely one of the author's most enjoyable books. It is hard to believe that it was first published nearly twenty years ago. The fact that the book is still selling like hotcakes is testament to the strength of the story storyline. As with many of the author's books, there is definitely a moral to the story, as there usually is when a desire for profit and science are combined.

The premise of the book is fascinating. A wealthy man has a desire to make even more money. He comes up with a concept that be believes will be a sure fire winner. Design a new type of theme amusement part, one that is peppered with dinosaurs.To that end, he buys a remote island for his project and hires the best scientists and engineers that money can buy. They manage to come up with a process for cloning dinosaurs from recovered DNA, which will ensure that their goals are met and Jurassic Park becomes a reality.

There are, however, a couple of little glitches that need to be addressed before opening Jurassic Park to the general public. So, money bags invites a couple of experts, a paleontologist, a botanist, and a mathematician to the island for a dry run, as well as his own grandchildren. When they arrive, having been kept somewhat in the dark as to what to expect and thinking that the island isjust some kind of grandiose resort, they are taken aback when they discover whatreally awaits them. Let the games begin!

This is an exciting tale in which science and non-stop action combine in a way that will rivet the reader to the pages of this book. Well-written and suspenseful, it is a book that keeps the reader in its thrall.Those who like techno-thrillers will derive much enjoyment from this masterfully told tale, which manages to educate and entertain at the same time. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Easton, Maryland, Cordova, Maryland, Oxford, Maryland, Trappe, Maryland, Saint Michaels, Maryland, Tilghman Island, Maryland, Queen Anne, Maryland, National Register of Historic Places Listings in Talbot County, Maryland, Saints Peter and Paul High School, Claiborne, Maryland, Sharps Island Light, Rebecca T. Ruark, Kathryn, Hilda M. Willing, Wye House, Wye Oak, Hooper Strait Light, Queen Anne's Railroad, Easton Airport, Tred Avon River, Easton Historic District (Easton, Maryland), Doncaster Town Site, Island Bird, Llandaff House, All Saints' Church (Easton, Maryland), Island Blossom, Tidewater Inn, Minnie V, Clay's Hope, Magic, St. Michaels Historic District, the Anchorage (Easton, Maryland), Old Wye Church, the Wilderness (Trappe, Maryland), Old Bloomfield, Island Lark, Rover, Flying Cloud, Sigsbee, Stanley Norman, S. C. Dobson, Ruby G. Ford, Virginia W, Ralph T. Webster, Sherwood Manor (St. Michaels, Maryland), Otwell (Oxford, Maryland), Persistence, E.c. Collier, Nellie L. Byrd, Compton (Trappe, Maryland), Maggie Lee, Noddy, Billie P. Hall, Jay Dee, Troth's Fortune, Victorian Corn Cribs, Sandy, St. John's Chapel of St. Michael's Parish, Reliance, Crooked Intention, Barnaby House, Myrtle Grove (Easton, Maryland), Orem's Delight, Wye Town Farm House, Hope House (Easton, Maryland), Rock Clift, Claude W. Somers, Cannonball House (Saint Michaels, Maryland), Jena (Oxford, Maryland), Saint Michaels Mill, the Old Inn, the Star Democrat, Edward Covey, Wye Mills, Maryland, Sherwood, Maryland, Poplar Island, Lewistown, Talbot County, Maryland, Royal Oak, Maryland, Bellevue, Maryland, Matthews, Maryland, Mcdaniel, Maryland, Neavitt, Maryland, Newcomb, Maryland, Wittman, Maryland, Bozman, Maryland. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 218. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: This is a l...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=20081140 ... Read more

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Leather bound book accented in 22kt gold. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (363)

Good but not my style
This novel is well-written but I never really got sucked into it. I'm sure there are others who might appreciate the setting, themes and characters more than I did.

It was enthralling at a few parts but a chore at several others, especially the first hundred pages, so 3/5 stars.

Magical realism, American-style
Have just finished my second time through the book and remain dazzled. In this outing more than any of the others that came before, Chabon modernizes and Americanizes the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez to create a work that seamlessly blends fantasy and reality to create an alternate universe that is at once exotic, meticulous, poignant, and brutal.

What starts off as a fairly familiar-seeming plot (morally and emotionally bankrupt detective with nothing left to believe in but the truth, no matter how devastating, investigates a crime, uncovering layers of duplicity, brutality, and betrayal) soon assume entirely unfamiliar contours when you realize that the setting is an alternate universe (in which the Jews, post-WWII, have been settled not in Israel, but in Alaska); the crooks are a sect of ultra-conservative Jews; the locals are Tlingit Indians; and the murdered man may be the world's long-awaited Messiah. Now add chess, espionage, ancient Jewish law, snow-streaked streets, bush pilots, heroin, love, yiddish slang, wolves, red cows, and miracles ... top with Chabon's brilliant prose ... mix thoroughly, and watch something brilliant happen.

Ultimately, this book isn't about a crime: it's about a succession of rootless people yearning for a place to belong. It's the timeless search of the Jews for a homeland, of Meyer Landsdown for a reason to believe, of a boy messiah to be accepted for who he is rather than who everyone wants him to be, that elevates the book to something much, much more ambitious than simply an exercise in yiddish noir. As anyone who has read Kavalieri and Clay knows, Chabon is as deft at creating fully-realized, sympathetic characters as he is at crafting dazzling metaphors. You don't have to believe Chabon's alternate history to understand that beneath the literary fireworks, this is a story about diaspora and the fundamental yearning of all living things to find their way back to the place where they belong.

Some interesting ideas, rich in detail, but it never really pulled me in
Oy vey, this is one of those books that I know I should like, that has everything I would normally look for in a book, but for whatever reason it never really takes off for me.The setup: in 1940, before the Nazi "Final Solution" really takes off, a Jewish settlement is established in Alaska (Sitka).It is a lease, pending establishment (presumably in the Middle East) of a permanent homeland.Come "present time" the lease has ended, the Muslims/Arabs have destroyed Israel, and the two million Jews in Alaska are about to be kicked out and dispersed again.

At its root, this is a murder mystery, where a murdered man is found by a homocide detective, who is then warned off the case by his superior.Being a typical curious (and in this particular case, self-destructive) detective, he defies his superior and the investigation leads him through the various sub-sets of Judaism, including the secretive "Black Hats" (Hasidics) and the westernized "Yids" (European, Yiddish-speaking Jews).The book is full of rich details, both real and extrapolated.For example, derogatory terms are used by these Sitka Jews when referring to themselves (much like current African Americans use the "N"-word).The book's best character is probably the "Boundary Maven", who encloses areas with string so that they are "indoors" and therefore immune to certain Sabbath laws.It is these details of Jewish customs, and the liberal use of numerous Yiddish terms (note there is a glossary in the back of this paperback edition), that make this novel an immersive experience.

And yet....The main character, upon whom much depends, is just not that interesting.He is self-destructive.He is an alcoholic.He lives in a pigsty.And he's just not interesting enough to want to root for him, or care much about him.Similarly, the conspiracy plot is one of those conspiracies that EVERYONE except the main character knows about.The Black Hats know about it.So do the FBI, the local police chief of the nearby Tlingit First Nation, the manager of a bush-pilot airport, and even one of the main character's relatives.And not one of them is going to spill the beans to the main character?The fact that I noticed things like this are evidence that I did not get sufficiently drawn in to the story, and that my mind was wandering at points.

It's a good book, but not a great book.It's fun, but not too much fun (certainly not "raucous" or "hilarious" as described in the critic quotes on the cover).In another bizarre choice, the voters of the Hugo Award called this the best science fiction novel of the year.Call me old-fashioned, but just because something is "alternate history" doesn't mean it's science fiction, any more than magic (Harry Potter or Amercan Gods) or fantasy (Paladin of Souls) is science fiction.Its other awards (e.g. Sideways Award for Alternate History) are more obvious, and it is undoubtedly a well-crafted alternate history novel.

Alternate history made interesting
Landsman, with all of his flaws, is a character who gets under your skin and quickly becomes that lovable underdog that you love to cheer on.The culture, language, uncertain future for the Sitka Jews, and setting are great characters too, bringing a richness that most stories (regardless of the format) simply don't have these days.

The murder mystery felt lost at times but always pulled itself out, which made the main plot feel less important than the setting.This was the only flaw I found with this book.However, it did give the sensation that I was reading page after page of description that didn't have any real meaning.Ultimately, this does resolve itself.The murder does get solved.

I understand how this novel won both the Hugo and Nebula award.All of its elements of alternate history and the fantastic push The Yiddish Policeman's Union into a place where a book about cops becomes a wonder of soft science fiction.

Tour De Force
To be honest, I put off reading this book because, unlike his nonfiction, I've never really been impressed by Chabon's fiction.I enjoyed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, though I wouldn't rank it as one of my favorite books, but I barely made it through Wonder Boys, which I thought was a real disappointment.I had hopes for this one, however, because I read an excerpt from it in a magazine some time ago.So, I finally bit the bullet and pulled it off the shelf.I was absorbed from beginning to end.

It's not really a risk anymore to write an alternate history novel--too many respectable authors have done it lately.In Chabon's world, the United States allowed Jewish immigration in the early years of World War II, but only to the city of Sitka, Alaska.This had the result of lessening the Holocaust, eliminating the founding of Israel, creating tensions between Jews and Native Americans, and basically altering the political landscape of the world.Most importantly, it had the result of creating a gigantic Jewish enclave on American soil which is where our story takes place, in the waning days when the US is about to take the city back.

Still, Chabon's novel is riskier than most.He creates a multi-cultural, Jewish world with Jewish cops struggling against Jewish organized crime.He isn't afraid to use Jewish terminology and have his characters use Jewish slang against each other.It is an altogether seedy, Jewish world.It's fascinating.

Then, he peoples his world with some great characters.His lead, Meyer Landsman, an intuitive cop with a world of problems is the slug that drags us through.He's surrounded by a host of great supporting cast mates: Berko, the half-native, half Jewish partner; Bina, the ex-wife/boss; the Verbover rebbe and his wife, Zimbalist, the boundary maven, and on and on.There isn't a person who steps on stage who isn't somehow memorable.

And these characters move around in a great murder plot: the death of a supposed nobody who turns out to be somebody which leads the way to a plot more important than murder.It's all handled deftly with plenty of mystery left to the last pages, which play out well, but not in a way that one might expect.There is a sense that the end comes very rapidly and there are some loose ends that are not really tied up as the novel closes but, somehow, it is satisfying.

I found this novel to be a tour de force.Once I started it, I didn't want to put it down.I don't get this feeling of excitement from novels much anymore, but Chabon managed it here.This magnificent world he's created and the people he's populated it with needs to be experienced. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Finally on audio!
For those of you enjoy audiobooks, this is the perfect time to finally read (or to re-read) Gene Wolfe's The Shadow of the Torturer. Audible Frontiers recently put it on audio and the excellent Jonathan Davis is the reader.

The Shadow of the Torturer introduces Severian, an orphan who grew up in the torturer's guild. Severian is now sitting on a throne, but in this first installment of The Book of the New Sun, he tells us of key events in his boyhood and young adulthood. The knowledge that Severian will not only survive, but will become a ruler, doesn't at all detract from the suspense; it makes us even more curious about how he will get there and what he experiences on the way.

What makes Gene Wolfe's epic different from everything else on the SFF shelf is his unique, evocative storytelling style. The reader isn't given all of the history and religion lessons (etc.) that are often dumped on us at the beginning of a fantasy epic. Rather, Severian's story is episodic and seems like it's meandering lazily, taking regular scenic detours, as if there's nowhere to go and plenty of time to get there. Because the story isn't a straight narrative, we don't understand the purpose or meaning of everything Severian relates -- we have to patch it together as we go. By the end of the book, we're still clueless about most of it and we're starting to realize that Severian is kind of clueless, too. Much of the power of this novel comes from the sense that there is world-building and symbolism on a massive scale here, but that explanations and revelations for the reader would just cheapen it and remove the pleasure that comes from the experience of discovery.

In addition to being unique in style, The Shadow of the Torturer is a gorgeous piece of work: passionate storytelling (heart-wrenching in places), fascinating insights into nature and the human condition, beautiful prose:

Perhaps when night closes our eyes there is less order than we believe. Perhaps, indeed, it is this lack of order we perceive as darkness, a randomization of the waves of energy (like a sea), the fields of energy (like a farm) that appear to our deluded eyes -- set by light in an order of which they themselves are incapable -- to be the real world.

I enjoyed every moment of The Shadow of the Torturer. I love the oddness, originality, and challenge of it, the way that events I knew I saw coming didn't happen, and the unsettling sense that there's way more going on here than I'm being explicitly told and that it will probably take several readings to fully (if possible) uncover it. I can't wait to read on in The Book of the New Sun with Jonathan Davis. This story is deeply emotional and introspective and, as usual, Mr. Davis's performance is perfection.

entrancing
For those like me who occassionally like to delve into fantasy worlds given weight and ambition, this is definitely an excellent book. Wolfe plays with the nature of his world and the identity of its characters--all of whom come to life under his masterful skill--and takes the traditional quest of the hero who will become himself off into previously uncharted directions. Many will find Wolfe to be dense and perhaps confusing, but a careful read of the text is both entrancing and rewarding. This book and the series that follows are a fine treat and should be sought by all lovers of fine speculative fiction.

"Please, not the Book of the New Sun. Anything but the Book of the New Sun!!!"
A few words on Torture:
1. Reading this book is an Excruciation.
2. I would rather be waterboarded than read this book again.
3. Given the choice of reading another book in this series or putting my left eye out with a butter knife, spreading it on toast, and eating it, I would take the eye-toast.

I read these gushy reviews by these deeply-intellectual reviewers and I believed.
Like the prisoners of the Guild, who hope (hopelessly) to be released without being tortured, I turned each page hoping beyond hope that the boredom and confusion would end; that sense could be made; that there was, indeed, a purpose.
It is too late for me, I will bear the scars of this persecution of incomprehensible boredom for years...but there is still time to save yourself!!!
Run!!!

Hopefully the payoff comes in the next book
'The Shadow of the Torturer' is the first book in Gene Wolfe's 'The Book of the New Sun' tetralogy. The story is narrated by Severian who is a member of the Guild of Torturers, until he is cast out for showing mercy to a client. The setting for the story is Earth (or Urth) in the far future where civilization has regressed and the sun is red and dying.
The book is very well written, but unfortunately the story just stops without any kind of resolution. Wolfe creates an intriguing world and there are hints of great things to come, but it is definitely a bit of a tease. It's difficult to rate a book like this, if the rest of the series is great then it is a great book, but if the rest of the series fails to deliver, then this book would have to be considered a failure. The series has a very impressive reputation so I will read on in hopes that the payoff will come.

Low Recommendation
Minimum Maturity Level - Adult.
Sexual Situations.No Bad Language.

Previous Reading Required - None.
This book is the start of its series.

Reading Level - Advanced.
The author seems to make up words that I could not find in the dictionary and doesn't go into much explanation on what they are.Sort of like when you say 'horse', you know exactly what it is without definition.The author even explains this in his Appendix at the end of the book.

Rate of Development - Medium Paced.
The characters and plot develop throughout the story almost at a slow pace.Several characters are also introduced late in the book which doesn't give much time to develop.

The Story - Adventure.
Severian has been raised to be a Torturer in the Guild of Torturers.And it is exactly as it sounds.The guild tortures people for a living.People that are given to them by other leaders or authorities.It's not the guild's job to judge their 'clients', just to perform their duties.Severian sets out on his own due to consequences at which I cannot spoil for you, and finds the outside world is more that he thought.In the meantime, he meets various characters and is 'challenged' by someone unknown and he sets out to fulfill this 'challenge' which usually results in death.As a professional torturer, that doesn't seem to be a problem for him.

My Suggestion - Low Recommendation.
I found that the advanced use of words the author conveys to be a bit confusing at times and there's some detail of the world but not as much as I would of liked.The main plot seemed very trivial and should of been maybe a side plot instead.So that means there isn't any climatic ending here.Just kind of fizzles out a bit.There is a bit of mystery in it but from the point you are mystified to the point it is solved is like the amount of time to run to the grocery store.It definately opens up for the second book.But I'll be reading that another time, maybe when I run out of other books to read.

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